3 Parts of Job Hunting I Actually Enjoy

I don’t know about you, but I hate job searching. I’ve been job searching nearly constantly since I graduated, most recently right now because I lost my job due to the pandemic. I HATE it, I’m NOT good at it, and it’s SO STRESSFUL.

However, my grandma likes to say that your subconscious internalizes every mean thing you say about yourself. So whenever I start to say I’m not good at something, she always makes me repeat it as “in the past, I struggled with [job hunting], but not anymore.” So, with this in mind, I embarked on a conscious decision to change the way I think about job hunting. Over the past few weeks I have identified three aspects of this (still stressful) situation that are maybe not so bad. They are as follows:

1. You Get to Meet Cool People

Just this week, I have spoken with two alumna of my college who were both super nice and super helpful. Do I hope they’ll help me find a job? Yes, duh. But it’s always nice to connect with other young women who are doing the type of work I want to be doing and are interested in the same things as me, regardless of context. So, I’m trying to remind myself that networking is actually just a chance to meet lots of interesting new people, who might be able to help you. 

2. You Get to Reimagine Your Life

Every new position that you look at gives you an opportunity to imagine what your life would be like if you got that job. Maybe you would move to a new city, maybe you would wear heels to work every day, maybe you would work from home. Sometimes you do that imagining and you think God, no. Sometimes it’s an exciting daydream, and often it’s kind of a mixed bag. My goal is to allow those imaginings to be exciting and helpful, alternate visions of what life could look like. Maybe they will force me to think outside the box about what would make me happy. 

3. You Get to Focus on Your Strengths

Job hunting is the only time you’re routinely asked to brag about yourself. How many awards have you won? What skills would you bring to this position? What do your former employers think of you? What an amazing chance to really remind yourself of all the ways you’re a fucking badass. Job searching has often made me feel sort of inadequate… I don’t have the experience, or whatever… But I’m trying to re-frame that in my mind, so that I think of job hunting as a time to celebrate all my accomplishments and all of my skills. 

It’s worth pointing out that I have cried multiple times this week over my current job search. It’s not an easy road, and it can be a very very stressful process. However, I am trying to shift my perspective from “I HATE job hunting”, to “job hunting is stressful, but I appreciate certain aspects of it.” My hope is that by thinking about these three aspects of the hunt positively, I will start to feel excitement along with the usual stress. Why shouldn’t I be excited to talk with people and not just nervous? Why can’t I enjoy the process of revising my resume so I look my absolute best?

I don’t know if this sort of positive thinking will make my job search ultimately any more successful, but I am already starting to feel myself enjoying the process a little bit more. True, the bar was very low to start out with, but I can confidently say that any step away from total misery is a step in the right direction. Fingers crossed.